Monitor your heart with the iPhone 4 ECG case [video]

The iPhonECG by Lifetone Technology is a case that turns your iPhone 4 into a fully functional ECG (Electrocardiography) device that can be used to monitor your heart. It works via interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over time captured and externally recorded by skin electrodes.

The case is a simple enough snap on type plastic case with two electrodes on the rear. The patient can hold the case in their hands, touching the electrodes, or hold it against their chest to capture the performance of the heart.

The information is displayed on the screen of the iPhone 4 with a dedicated app, again developed by Lifetone. It also has another app that works with the case. The second app is a personal heart rate monitor, to aid with relaxation; it is aimed more at the consumer than the professional market.

Both apps and the case will be announced at CES (Consumer Electronics Show), which begins in Las Vegas next week.

I think there is a lot of potential in health-monitoring applications like this for iOS devices. This one requires some additional hardware, but some apps (such as pedometers and the RePose sleep position monitor) simply use the built-in accelerometer.

I think, if this device is kept horizontally on left side of chest, it will provide a clue to the diagnosis of anterior wall ST elevation MI(heart attack) or ischemia and when placed obliquely , left end lower than the right sensor, on the left side of the chest, it might reveal inferior wall heart attack or Ischemia. This information in useful for the treating cardiologist or Emergency room staff to activate the treatment plan. There is need to use this device trial in such patients with proved diagnosis to confirm this hypothesis. Dr. Rajeev Lochan, Dubai